Workshop Coral Harbour

2-Day Workshop Coral Harbour

During the main gathering in Coral Harbour, BearWatch researchers from the South, both in person and virtually, gave a series of presentations outlining new, non-invasive tools and a new way to determine the cost effectiveness of the collection of various types of polar bear data. These presentations were followed with a summary of all the non-invasive work that was carried out and led by community hunters and PI Leonard Netser on Southampton Island with CIRNAC support over the last four years. This included scat collection, bear den location and excavation, and optimization efforts for the collection of snow from polar bear tracks for genetic analysis. The final activity of the gathering was a workshop-like activity seeking insights from local hunters and community members on how to ‘live with bears’ (versus the current management via quota system).

Due to an explicit absence of our local PI, the focus of our workshop had shifted considerably towards the local high-school. Our project research permit, however, did not cover school activities, and as such this track only presents what we did, not how our activities in the high-school would contribute to the knowledge conciliation in terms of ethical space of engagement. Neither did we have the input from a community advisory board like we had had in Gjoa Haven, to design the workshop sessions in a way that could be analysed or evaluated in terms of how the community would prefer to meet in a "good way".

You have ran into a Great White Beast. Even though none of your efforts at the high school will translate into material that can be used for research purposes, there are expectations of student involvement and science-based activities. Besides, you have started to build connections with several teachers and pupils. The parts of this gathering that can be recorded and observed for research purposes, show no clear possibilities to provide meaningful insights in terms of ethical space, practice or process, due to a lack of foundational relationships in the community. Keep going to read excerpts of our reports on the highschool activities. Or "Stay with the Trouble" and read about the ethical dilemmas,a nd different options I was weighing in terms of how to shape my contributions to the workshop in Coral Harbour.

Stay with the trouble: Politics of In-action and Refusal

Day 1: Building Qamutiq (Morning)

Highschool students and researchers from the south participated together in building a Qamutik under guidance of Ross Eetuk, the school workshop teacher. The purpose of the event was to give stunts the experience of building a Qamutik, to encourage knowledge transfer across cultures, and provide an opportunity to connect and create together.

Detour: BW Final Reporting

School Bingo, Lunch, Presentation

The presentations at the High school were informal presentation made by Lougheed, Van Coeverden de Groot, DeWildt and Brannigan on non-invasive polar bear assays, Coral Harbour polar bear field work, grizzlies and polar bear hybridization and a polar bear bingo was completed with the high School Science seniors.